Running shoe



Aug. 26, 1952 l, SH'APlRO 2,608,007

RUNNING SHOE Filed D80. 8, 1949 Patented Aug. 26, 1952 ISadore Shapiro, Chicago, Ill., ass-ignor to The Athletic Shoe Company, Chicago,l Ill., a corporation of Illinois.

Application December 8, 1349, Serial No.'131,872

1 My invention relates totrack or runningshoes and has lto do more "particularly with an im'- provement in cleat or spike attachments therefor. Inthe construction of a track shoe several desiderata are considered. A major objective'isI lightness of weight, in orderv thanY the r-unner may not ybe unduly handicapped, as it isfound that every ounce of Weight carried by the'runners'ffootA tends to reduce his speed.- A further objective is that or securely'attaching the spikes to the shoe sole, in order that they will not be forced up against the runners foot,causing him discomfort and thus'producing a mentalr handicap, and also to prevent cockingof the spikes at vvarious angles, vreducing tractve -efhciency y With these, objectives in mind, track shoes have been constructed in various ways, the manufacturer-*giving more or less rconsideration to Aone desideratum or another, but neverfso far as I am aware, have they been'able to vaccomplish all of the desired advantages in a single structure. Furthermore, the manufacturer must ralways bear in mind the element of cost, inasmuch as certain institutions which support track teams arekv able toaiford a larger expenditure of money for equipment than others. w

In a common construction of shoe the spikes, made of metal with a comparatively large, integralflat head, are forced through the sole of the: shoe land the, insole. is then secured over the headsof ithe spikes; While such aconstruction obviously has the advantages of lightness of Weighttogether with relatively low cost, it is subjectto. important major objections. Foremost among -,these is the` fact that, even after a moderate amountof use-in running, the spikes quickly tend'to become cocked at various angles, inasmuch as they Vare'subject only to the relatively low resistance of the leather in which they are imbedded, andthus the shoe loses so much of its tractive efficiency that it is practically worthless.

In more expensive shoes, a Wide variety of expedientsnhas been introduced to overcome the disadvantages vof the simplest and cheapest construction mentioned above. Most of these. involvel the .use lof screw threadedspikessecured to female threaded studs which are imbedded in the soleV of the shoe. These constructions, which have been known and usedfor a long time, are.`

not ideal for a number of reasons. For one thing,"

they add considerably to the cost of a shoe, espe-'- cially in the'time'and labor required to assemble the various parts. From a functional standpoint, furthermore, such constructions are sub- 3 claims. (o1. sci-2.5)L

. ject to the same criticism asthe cruder construction with the spike driven through the fleather, unless there is added to the assembly a spring steel plate interposed between the sole and inv .sole or between the sole and the tap, where a tap is used. It can be readily seen that the addition of such a steel platev adds greatly to the weight of a shoe as Well as considerably to the cost thereof. 1

An object of my invention is to provide a track shoe construction which will accomplish practically allm of the above mentioned desiderata.' avoiding the. disadvantages mentioned.

Brieiiy outlined, my invention contemplates attaching a spike to the sole or sole tap by'mea'ns of a tubular element imbedded in and preferably clamped to the sole or sole tap, the spike having a iirm'y drive t with said tubular element so as tovbe rigidly secured tothe sole. Furthermore, I prefer to use a standard spike having a relatively large head, thus providing considerablebearing surface which Will resist cooking of the spike to a vmuch greater extent than l.where a spike Vis threaded into a female stud. v

In a preferred embodiment'ofmy invention I also may insert above the spikes and between the sole elements a thin sheet of lightweight-material having high flexibility and high shearing strength and hardness.

My invention vwill be best understood by reference to the drawings forming apart of this' application and illustrating certain preferred embodiments of my invention, Whereinz- Fig. l .is a side elevationalviewof a track shoe embodying my invention,portions being shown cut away and in section; Y

Fig. 2 is "a bottom of the-shoe shown in Fig. 1

.Fig 3. S

plan View and Figs. 4 and 5 are similaring other modifications ofthe invention.

Referring first to Fig. 1, numeral i9 indicates the upper of a track shoe having secured thereto, as by stitching, a sole i2, an insole I3 and a sole tap lI5. A`As regards the parts s0 far mentioned, the construction may be more or less standard.

imbedded in the tap l 5 is a plurality of tubular.

elements I8. These tubular elements are prefof ay relatively soft metal, such as brass or thin,

a sectional Viewv` .taken substantially. along the line 3-3 :of Fig. 2 on anenlarged scale sectional views showings provided in the sole or sole tap I5 in such manner that the members I8a and I8b interlock and clampingly engage the sole so as to be rigidly secured thereto.

A plurality of.cleats or spikes-20 such as are commonly used in track shoes or of other suitable design are driven through the tubular elements I8 so as to form a firm drive lit therewith;

The spikes 20 used in connection with my in,- vention have an upper portion which is approximately of uniform diameter', as indicatedvby.V the? numeral 2|, the lower portion 22 tapering'more;

or less to a blunt point so as readily to pierce the ground, and a nat head 23. VThe diameter'of the uniform portion 2I will be at least as4 great as the diameter of the tubular members I8 and preferably slightly greater, so that when the spike isldriventhrough theftub'ular member I8 a small portionof the soft'metal will be forced outwardly toipnoi/ideazcollar24..which closely grips the :spike 205:

Bysmeansof this construction, the/spikes are lixedly attached; to the shoe sole since they are positively secured'. to the tubular elements I 8v which', in turn, permanently clamp the sole. Hence, the spikes are secure not only against slidingupwardly into the interior of theV shoe, butare rigidly positionedto extend' in a-perpendicularfdirectionl from the-sole and are not likely to become cocked out ofsuch direction in the courseofuse'.

.Invorder to. provide an additional factor of' safety:against` cooking and displacement, I provide,.` the. embodiment shown in Fig. 1, inserted between the sole I2 and the sole tap I5, a relativelythin sheet of 'a material which will havev certain desirable qualities. Thus, it is lightin Weight and highly flexible, so that it will readily,- bend with the shoe as it is flexed by the runner, and has a hardness and shearing strength of a high order. Numerous synthetic materials now available on the market meet these4 requirements, and it is within the contemplationof myinvention that any such materials may-be used for this purpose. One such sheet material which is well known for a variety of other -'-applications, such as electrical insulation, iszknownv inthe industry-under the name or trademark' Formica I do not consider it necessary for me to describe the precise chemical character of such materials as they'are commonly available in the trade, some being formed of various synthetic resins, sometimes having incorporated therein various fibrous materials. In many respects certain of these substances, including, the one mentioned by name, are nearly comparable in hardness and flexibility to spring stee1 at least for the purposes of my invention.

Thus, it willbe seen that the construction shown in Fig .,1 is extremely light in weight, the inserted sheet '25' adding very little to the weight ofthe shoe and does not materially reduce the flexibility of theY sole, althoughit ,contributes greatly to the permanentpositioningof the studs or spikes.

Obviously,v theV ShoeY shown in Fig. 1 may be manufactured quickly and cheaply with a minimum of labor. 'Ihe tubular members are of a standard typeY which are extr-emely inexpensive and may be quickly applied to the shoe by auto-..

maticV machinery. Furthermore, the driving of they spikes throughthe, tubular members may alsov 4 be accomplished mechanically in a minimum of time since no threading operation is required.

The collars 24 which are automatically forced out around the spikes 20 contribute to the rigidity thereof, not only against axial displacement but also against wobbling.

Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment of my invention which is slightly different from that shown inFigs. 1 and 3 inthat I dispense with the interposed sheet 25. It will be seen that I employ here a tubular member clampingly engaging the sole member I5 as in the first embodiment. However, in the absence of a reinforcing or .stiieningsheet, Iipreferably employ a spike 20? 'having' a head 23 of somewhat enlarged diameter-as compared with the spike ZIJ, shown in Figs.. 1y and. Such an enlarged head provides additional bearing surface cooperating with the sole member I5 to insure against wobbling of the cleat.

Fig. .5 is substantially similar. to Fig. 4A except that I show' here al diiferent type of tubularele-A ment 28. This element may belikewise of asubstantially stan-dard form and` consisting of a single element-known as an eyelet in the shoe.

' andclothing industry, insteadof the two-.pieceK grommets shown .in the other figures. These eye-vv lets are-driven into the sole, having a fiange 28a, gripping the under face` thereof, ,andthen upset, on the oppositeV side to. form clampingprongs, 28h.

Other forms of inexpensive tubular rvetsor the like: may be substituted, for the grommets. andf eyelets shown;

Furthermore, while ,Iv have shown a substam. tially standard form oftrack spike, it will4 be readily Aunderstood thatv my invention isr appli, cable. to the use of other ground engaging cleats.Y

Various changes coming within the spirit ol my-invention are susceptible, of being incorpof. rated without departing fromv the essential spirity or scope thereof. I do not'wish, therefore, to bev limited to the particulars of the accompanyingY outerange and gripping said spike, and a nonmetallic sheet disposed over said spike, said sheetA being formed of lightweight-material having high4 flexibility, hardness and puncture and shearing-2 strength so as to resist upwardmovementof thespike.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said sheet is formed of a composition includingr a synthetic resin plastic.

3; A combination as denn-ed inl claim 1,wherein thevsole member comprises a pair ofY elements havingy therebetween a non-metallic sheet of lightweighti material vof high4 flexibility, hardness. and puncture g and shearing strength, saidspike having a relatively large, vflat-topped head disposed under said non-metallic sheet.. the latter substantially resistingA upward movement Vof I,the

(Referenceson follrrwingpage.)

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS The following references are of record in the Number ,Country Date le of this patent: 8,560 Great; Britain Oct. 7, 1915 5 l 0f 1915 K UNITED STATES PATENTS l 411,671 Great Britain June 14, 1934 Number ,Nam-e Date y OTHER REFERENCES 1,243,819 Davis Oct. 23, 1917 Modern Plastics Encyclopedia, r.Plastics Cata- 

